A New Life
by FirenIce15
Summary: Elenwen's half human (yes, you read that right) daughter has spent her whole life, longing to be free to make her own choices, rather than being bossed around by her mother all the time. The attack on Helgen gives her the opportunity she has been waiting for. She escapes and begins to make her own path through life...a path Elenwen would never have approved of.
1. Chapter 1

A New Life

Summary: Ardarume, the half-human (yes, you read that right) daughter of first emissary Elenwen is desperate to live her own life, away from her control freak mother. She takes her chance to escape during the dragon attack on Helgen. Finally free, she begins to forge her own path through life…a path her mother would surely have never approved of.

Rating: M for mentions of rape and torture and the occasional use of strong language

Disclaimer: I own nothing and am making no money from this

Chapter One: An Unexpected Escape

Ardarume rode glumly behind her mother, not bothering to try and engage the woman in conversation; it would be futile anyway she was too busy to bother with her daughter. That was the story of her life, her mother was a busy and important woman in the Aldmeri Dominion, she didn't have time to deal with Ardarume's childish concerns and her father had never been around. Her mother had forbidden her from asking about him anytime she tried, she was given some loathsome chore (like mucking out the stables) to do and a lecture on not sticking her nose where it didn't belong.

Ardarume knew absolutely nothing about her father, not even his name. When she was little she had dreamed of him coming and taking her away to a home where people actually cared about her, but it never happened...sometimes Ardarume wondered if he even knew that she existed or maybe he had died before she was born, she didn't know and Elenwen had her way, Ardarume never would.

Frankly though, lectures had long since ceased to have any effect on Ardarume. She got them every time she did something that Elenwen deemed improper for a well-bred altmer lady to do…which was a lot. Only once had she made the mistake of bringing up the fact that Elenwen had been disgraced and sent to Skyrim (which was the middle of nowhere as far as the Thalmor were concerned) when Ardarume was very little and Elenwen had responded by casting a lighting spell on her and telling her what an ungrateful little wretch she was. That was the only time Elenwen had ever struck her either physically or magically and the woman had actually apologized afterward but it had still left a firm impression.

She was accompanying her mother on this trip against her will, she didn't really want to see Ulfric and his men executed. It was bad enough having to listen to the screams of some of the prisoners being tortured downstairs. Her mother however had ordered it, children couldn't be trusted to look after themselves and even though Ardarume was now twenty nine her mother still viewed her as a child. By human standards Ardarume was well into adulthood but altmer lived much longer than humans and thus matured later, Ardarume still hated being treated like a child when she felt very much like an adult. Since most members of the relatively small embassy delegation were going to the execution (except for the servants and a few guards, of course) that meant that Ardarume had to accompany her mother as well.

When they arrived at Helgen, they were greeted by General Tullius

"Glad you were able to make it Ambassador" he said...most people watching knew that statement to be a lie but appearances had to be kept up for diplomacy's sake

"Thank you for the invitation, General" Elenwen replied formally "You remember third emissary Rulinduil, of course" as she gestured toward the man next to her

"Yes, nice to see you again." Tullius said a bit too stiffly

"And have you met my daughter, Ardarume?" Elenwen added gesturing to her daughter

"No, I don't believe I've had the pleasure" Tullius replied as he turned his gaze to the young elf on Elenwen's other side.

'Of course not' Ardarume thought 'mother thinks that children should sit in the corner and do nothing but study while the adults work'

"Sadly that is correct; it's a pleasure to finally meet you General Tullius." Ardarume said politely and she held her hand out for the General to shake.

Elenwen's eyes flashed for just a second at that, shaking hands was a human custom not a mer one. Ardarume didn't understand the resistance that so many of the Thalmor (her mother especially) had at following Nord customs regarding basic courtesy while in Skyrim. Really showing them common courtesy was only polite. Of course many Thalmor didn't believe in being polite to 'inferior beings'. Her tutors had tried very hard to drill into her; the idea that altmer were superior to all other races but it had never made sense to her…it was one of the many things that Elenwen despaired of in her daughter.

After just a slight bit of hesitation (he'd never had a Thalmor offer to shake his hand before) Tullius took her small hand into his much larger one.

As they shook Ardarume smiled slightly "Your reputation precedes you general, it's nice to finally have a face to go with your name."

"Normally this is where I tell you the same thing but that would be a lie since I didn't even know that your mother had a daughter." Tullius told her "I mean no offense when I say that" and then he released her hand

"None taken, I don't leave the embassy very often; my mother is quite protective of me." Ardarume assured him. That was a polite way of putting…more polite than accurate.

"That's understandable." Tullius said "These are dangerous times, and it's every parent's desire to keep their children out of danger. Hopefully once Ulfric and his followers have been dealt with, things will calm down and you will be able to get out more."

"That would be nice." Ardarume responded sincerely…well that part about being able to get out of the embassy would be nice anyway.

"We'll see what develops" Elenwen said and shot her daughter a look that told her quite clearly 'you've said too much already, now be quiet and let the grownups talk'

They briefly discussed the details of the execution and where the Thalmor delegation was to be positioned while they were talking the prisoners that were to be executed arrived.

Ardarume found her gaze strangely fixed on the gagged man…she didn't know who he was but for some reason seeing him struck a chord deep inside her. She forgot herself and stared at the man, trying to figure out why he was making her feel so odd. Quickly he sensed her gaze and examined her in turn.

She wasn't certain how long she and the human stared at each other across the square but it was ended when she heard her mother's voice snap

"Ardarume"

"Yes mother?" she asked turning to Elenwen

"Why did you say those things to the General?" Her mother demanded

Ardarume blinked, she didn't see anything wrong with what she said to him "I was only making a bit of polite conversation"

"That's MY job" Elenwen told her "I'm the ambassador, you are the ambassador's daughter, your job is to sit there, look pretty and NEVER do anything to embarrass me in public."

"How did I embarrass you?" Ardarume asked, her mother was impossible to please, she knew that by now, it was still extremely annoying though

Elenwen decided not to dignify that asinine question with an answer.

Just then one of the soldiers began calling out names of a list

"Ulfric Stormcloak, jarl of Windhelm"

Ardarume let out a tiny gasp as she realized the man she'd been staring at was Ulfric himself. To her surprise he looked at her once more very briefly before walking across the square. Once all the prisoners had been gathered the priestess began giving them their last rites…although Ardarume couldn't help but think that the priestess had overly emphasized the word eight.

She knew of course, that the Thalmor believed that Talos was a false god but honestly Ardarume really couldn't care less. She wasn't certain that any gods existed quite frankly. She didn't understand why the Thalmor cared so much about stamping out the worship of Talos; she knew he had conquered the first Aldmeri Dominion but that was centuries ago, why couldn't they just let it go? Besides, its' not like they were hurting anyone by worshiping Talos, what was the harm? Ardarume personally did not worship any gods, she left them alone and they left her alone, it seemed to work out well enough.

While she had been thinking, a man tried to run and had been immediately shot to death. Then another man went up to the executioner

"My ancestors are smiling at me imperials" the man declared

'Really?" Ardarume wondered 'how do you know that?'

"Can you say the same?" he continued but no one answered him

The executioner then cut his head off.

Shortly afterward they heard a strange unidentifiable roar.

"What was that noise?" Someone asked

"Never mind keep going" another voice ordered "bring the next prisoner forward."

Another roar

"I said next prisoner" the previous voice demanded impatiently

Someone, Ardarume had no idea who he was, stepped forward and put his head on the chopping block.

Suddenly a large black creature swooped into view and landed on top of a large tower near the chopping block.

It opened its' mouth and a blast of fire came out burning the executioner alive and injuring the prisoner.

At this Ardarume didn't think, she just acted she ran quickly towards the injured man

Her mother shouted at her to come back but was cut off when the creature let loose another blast of flame.

Ardarume had inherited her mother's talent for magic but not her love for the destruction school, she would much rather heal a person then hurt them and so her favorite school of magic was restoration.

She bent down and cast a strong healing spell on him to mend his wounds.

"Hey" a male voice called to them "This way, hurry!"

Instinctively both of them raced toward the man and into the tower.

There were two additional wounded men in the tower along with two other men who were not wounded. One of those not wounded was Ulfric but Ardarume ignored him and raced over to the two who needed her healing magic and began tending their wounds.

"Jarl Ulfric was the really a dragon like in the old legends?!" the unwounded man who had not called them in asked

"Legends don't burn down villages." Ulfric said

"What's that elf bitch doing here?!" the same man from earlier demanded

"Healing your wounded comrades you ungrateful asshole" Ardarume "now leave me alone so I can work."

The idiot opened his mouth but before he could speak another man spoke from higher up on the staircase

"The stairway's been blocked, our only way out is to jump through this window." Then suiting his own words, he jumped.

Slowly the other men began to follow. Ulfric waited until Ardarume had finished healing his two wounded soldiers

"Come on boys, we're not going to Sovenguarde today." Ulfric told them encouragingly

Ardarume had no idea where or what Sovenguarde was but for once in her life she held her tongue and did not ask, contrary to what her mother believed she WAS capable of that and knew full well that there were some times and places that asking questions was not a good idea and that when there was a powerful and vicious monster trying to kill you was one of those.

Ardarume and Ulfric wound up being the last to jump out of the tower only to find that they were not able to follow the others because a bunch of burning wood had fallen and blocked their path, luckily for them there was another way out of the building.

"I don't suppose you know a way out of this town?" Ardarume asked Ulfric after they had run out of the building and temporarily taken cover under a partially fallen over pile of what had been stone walls

"No, I've only passed through here a few times." Ulfric told her

"Figures" Ardarume muttered softly then louder she added "The creature seems to be having trouble getting its' fire close to the wall, we should be relatively safe if we stay alongside it."

"It's a dragon-"Ulfric began but Ardarume cut him off

"I don't care what in Oblivion it is, let's just get AWAY from it!" Ardarume responded exasperatedly

Ulfric didn't say it out loud but he knew she had a point.

The two of them ran along the wall…surprisingly enough the few imperials they met didn't bother with them…Ardarume could only guess that they were too busy dealing with the dragon and they didn't recognize Ulfric for who he was. Belated she thought that her presence might be helping with that, no one would ever expect the rebel leader famed for his hatred of the Thalmor would be willingly anywhere near one of said Thalmor without trying to kill them.

Then they came to a small section of the wall that was riddled with cracks, in some places it was breaking apart already.

"This section of the wall looks very weak maybe I can-"then she began to push on it but the rocks didn't budge

Ardarume swore

"Move" Ulfric ordered

She did and began to ask "What are you-"

"FUS RO DAH" Ulfric shouted, luckily for them the dragon was on the other side of the town and thus not able to hear him over all the other noise going on

Ardarume gasped in shock, she'd heard rumors that Ulfric's voice had some sort of strange power but she had always dismissed them as hearsay.

Several bits of rock flew away from the wall, creating a hole…that was not big enough for them to go through

Ulfric took a brief moment to gather his breath again "FUS RO DAH" he shouted again, more stone bits flew away creating a whole that was barely big enough for the pair to squeeze through…one at a time

"Ladies and kids first" Ulfric said

"I'm NOT a kid" Ardarume glared at him

"You ARE a lady, now go" Ulfric responded

Ardarume gave him one last glare before she squeezed through the hole with Ulfric following close behind.

They then ran through the woods until Helgen and the dragon were safely out of sight.

"Okay Thalmor, this is where I leave you." Ulfric told her

"I'm not Thalmor" Ardarume snapped

"Really? Ulfric asked with a raised eyebrow "You were watching the execution with them and you are dressed in Thalmor robes."

"That was NOT my choice. I've never HAD a choice. I was born into the Thalmor and unable to escape until now." Ardarume didn't understand WHY she was telling Ulfric this, he was basically a stranger to her but she continued "Now that I am FINALLY free and away from my mother, I am NEVER going back. I'd rather die out here."

"Your mother?" Ulfric asked

"Elenwen" Ardarume stated

"…I pity you; of course I'd pity anyone who had to grow up with that bitch. You must have had one hell of a childhood." Ulfric said

Ardarume blinked "you PITY me?! I expected you to insult me, call me names or even spit on me. I know what my mother did to you" Pity was one of the last things she had ever expected to get from Ulfric Stormcloak. Most of the Nords she encountered hated her even if they didn't know who her mother was. Elenwen had only let her leave the embassy when she was accompanied by at least two Thalmor guards. Their presence alone led people to assume she was Thalmor and that was all the reason they needed to hate her guts. Yet Ulfric Stormcloak who had very good reason to hate her mother and her by extension pitied her…it made no sense to Ardarume. Being pitied may have been a new experience for Ardarume but it was NOT a welcome one, she didn't need nor want anyone's pity

"I don't know how things work in the Thalmor and I don't care too, but we Nords don't punish children for the crimes their parents committed." Ulfric told her "Good day to you." then he walked away leaving Ardarume alone in the woods with her thoughts.

Said thoughts were becoming slightly panicky as she realized she had no idea where she was, no money...no nothing. 'Ok, don't panic' she told herself 'there's got to be a road around here somewhere, just find it and follow it to civilization. Then…figure out something from there.' It seemed like the only plan she had so she began to move.

Elenwen didn't know how long she and her compatriots had been hiding in their makeshift shelter but she did know that the attack didn't end until dusk.

When they emerged they saw a few imperials roaming around shifting through the rumble looking for survivors. To her disappointment, General Tullius was among them, he seemed a bit worse for the wear but he would definitely live to fight another day.

"General" she greeted him

"Ah, ambassador, good to see you made it through alright." Tullius said politely

Although he and Elenwen both knew he didn't mean it.

"Has there been any sign of my daughter?" she asked

"She's not with you?" He responded

Elenwen wanted to say 'of course not stupid, I wouldn't be asking about her if she was' but that would not be very diplomatic so what she said instead was "No, we got separated during the attack"

"Well, to my knowledge no one has seen any sign of her so maybe she got out on her own and she'll be waiting for you when you get back to the embassy." Tullius said

"Perhaps" Elenwen replied. She didn't believe that though…she couldn't help but think that her daughter was dead. To her own surprise, she felt sad. She had never liked Ardarume; the brat was such a disappointment. She made no effort to act like a proper Altmer lady, if Elenwen had let her; she would probably have spent her childhood rolling around in the dirt like an uncivilized human brat. Nor did she understand the proper order of things. Elves were the oldest and wisest race in Tamriel so it was only natural that they should rule things. Elders always guided the group, whether it was a family or a village.

Unfortunately she had inherited her father's defiant streak. Every time Elenwen or her tutors tried to sit her down and patiently explain the way things worked to her, she refused to listen. Really she should be glad that the irritating brat was finally out of her life…not that she had ever been a very big part of it to begin with.

The real reason for that was because every time Elenwen looked at Ardarume, she was reminded of her shame, the reason WHY she had been sent to one of the absolute worst posts the Thalmor had. Truthfully, she should be thankful to even be alive, most elves that had disgraced themselves the way that she had would have been killed on the spot but her status as one of the best integrators in the Dominion AND a high class elf from a highly respected family prevented that. Too many people would ask unwanted questions, and if word of what she had done ever got out, the public scandal would be a nightmare. So she had been packed up and shipped off to the middle of nowhere, out of sight out of mind.

It wasn't Aradume's fault, all the girl had done was be born, it WAS Elenwen's actions that led to her own downfall, she was willing to admit that. However Ardarume had inherited HIS eyes, eyes that accused her, defied her, and JUDGED her…until she'd finally broken him. She had taken a great deal of pleasure in that, seeing that arrogant human FINALLY put in his proper place, knowing who his masters were. Everything had gone exactly according to plan…everything except Ardarume. Elenwen was NEVER supposed to end up pregnant from it, she'd taken every precaution she could think of and yet somehow she'd still ended up with child. Even worse someone else had found out and reported it before she was able to abort it. She would have gotten rid of it but she'd been ordered NOT to. It was strange, mixed children were usually aborted before they were even born or killed immediately after birth; they couldn't be allowed to contaminate the rest of the Altmer.

Ardarume had been allowed to live, only to serve as a reminder to Elenwen, a living symbol of how low she had fallen. However the girl's reprieve would last only so long as she was useful. Elenwen's orders had been that if Ardarume had not proven herself worthy by her thirtieth birthday then she was to kill her…preferably in a way that made it look accidental. So really this WAS a good thing, the dragon had not only rescued Ulfric from execution but had killed her half breed daughter so she wouldn't have too. After all no one could accuse her of having her daughter killed by a dragon now could they? Logically, she had every reason to feel glad or at least relieved so WHY did she feel grief instead?

Tullius' voice snapped her out of her thoughts

"If you want to you can set up camp here tonight-"he was saying

"No thank you general" Elenwen stated, she had no intention of sticking around if that creature showed up again…besides they had planned on staying at the inn overnight, they were not equipped to set up camp as the general put it. No, they had passed through Riverwood on the way from Solitude, there was an inn there. They would stay at that inn for the night and then return to Solitude the next day. "In light of recent events, I believe it would be best if we returned to the embassy as soon as possible."

"Very well" Tullius said agreeably, the less time he had to spend playing nice with the Thalmor, the better so far as he was concerned "If we find your daughter, we'll let you know."

"Thank you general…if she IS among the dead; please send her body to the embassy so we can give her a proper burial." Elenwen said sadly

To her shock…and slight disgust, Tullius placed a hand on her shoulder…attempting to offer some comfort, though quite frankly she would be MORE comfortable if he would remove his hand…she didn't like being touched especially not by humans.

"Don't give up hope, we've searched most of the town and not found her so its' likely she's out there, making her own way home." He told her

"Is that supposed to make me feel better, general?" Elenwen asked "As you said these are dangerous times, too dangerous for children to be running around Skyrim alone...and unprotected"

"Anybody who can survive what happened here today has a pretty good shot at surviving anything else Skyrim can throw at them." Tullius responded

"We've got a live one here!" a male voice shouted

Both Tullius and Elenwen turned to look. They watched as male imperial soldier was pulled from a pile of rubble, he was severely wounded and clearly needed medical attention very badly.

Elenwen felt almost cheated somehow because it wasn't Ardarume. "You seem to have the situation here well in hand, so if you don't mind my people will take our leave and begin our trip back to the embassy."

"That's fine with me" Tullius said "safe travels to you"

Elenwen nodded and then she and her comrades began readying themselves for the trip back.

Ardarume had managed to make it to the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood and worked out a deal with the innkeeper…technically he was NOT the innkeeper but since she was going to be away for a few days he was in charge of running the inn temporarily. Ardarume didn't have any money so she couldn't pay him but he had agreed to let her do several chores around the inn, in exchange for room and board for the night. She had already obliged by cooking dinner for the rest of the patrons and was cleaning the rooms while they ate, she'd be able to eat her fill when she was finished.

Normally high born Altmer ladies were NOT supposed to cook their own food (such work was beneath them) but Ardarume hated cooking and Elenwen knew it, therefore she often punished her daughter by having her assist Tsvani in the kitchen. As a result Ardarume (unlike many Thalmor higher ups including her mother) knew how to cook.

She was working on the last room when she heard a familiar and unwelcome voice say "We need a dozen beds for the night."

Ardarume froze; no she couldn't be here, not now! She turned to look toward the counter and sure enough her mother was standing there, Ardarume's only good fortune was that her mother's attention was focused on the cook and not her.

Ardarume quickly collapsed to the floor and rolled into a corner…out of sight from the door. Unfortunately the noise drew Elenwen's attention

"What was that?" she asked and began to head toward the room Ardarume was hiding in.

On instinct Orgnar 'accidentally' knocked an empty mug off the counter. Previously he had been thanking his lucky stars that Delphine having somehow heard about the capture of Ulfric Stormcloak had correctly deduced that the Thalmor would come through Riverwood on their way to Helgen and so had left town for a few days…he didn't know where she was and he didn't want to, the less he knew the safer he felt. Anyway, now he was wondering if he shouldn't be cursing instead…it seemed another Thalmor fugitive was trying to hide here…and dammit he had to at least TRY to help them, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't

Elenwen turned to look at him

"That was me…I'm a bit clumsy" Orgnar said sheepishly

Elenwen looked at him suspiciously "like I was saying, we will need a dozen beds for the night along with meals for all of us. We are of course willing to pay a good price-"

"We don't have that many beds" Orgnar told her

"You have bedrolls don't you?" Elenwen asked with a raised eyebrow, in her experience every inn in Skyrim had those, just in case they got more business than was usual.

"Of course" Orgnar admitted

"Then we will take some of those for the night in addition to beds. Now I will take that room there" Elenwen then pointed at the room she had been heading toward earlier, still intending to look for the source of the strange noise. "Rulindil and Ondolemar will be taking the room across the hall and the rest of you will share the final room and find spaces where you can."

"You can't have that room" Orgnar said too quickly

"Why not?" Elenwen asked her tone deceptively mild "You don't seem to have any other guests"

It was true…ever since the war started business had slowed to almost nothing. Many of the locals came to the inn because it was the only place to drink and hang out after a long day's work…which was the only reason why it was still in business.

"Because…the guest who had it last only just checked out, it hasn't been fully cleaned yet" Orgnar responded

"Well, like I said we also need food, so you can finish cleaning the room while we eat, problem solved." Elenwen declared

Orgnar to his chagrin could not think of an objection to her idea…there was plenty of food on the table. The elf girl had gone all out and made WAAY too much food, more than the patrons could have possibly eaten…from what he'd heard it tasted better too.

"…Ok, I suppose that would be workable" he said grudgingly

"Excellent, how much will it all cost?" Elenwen asked

"1,200 septims" Orgnar said, deliberately inflating the price…he hoped that the unreasonably high price would make the Thalmor decide to leave

"Very well" Elenwen agreed not wanting to argue and hoping that if she paid the outrageous price now, he might willing to pass information to the Thalmor in the future, it had worked before with other innkeepers. Innkeepers were great sources of information and information was always highly useful. She then handed him 600 septims "You get half now and half when we leave tomorrow"

"Fine" Orgnar said and then headed into the other room while Elenwen headed to a nearby table to eat

Orgnar deliberately closed the door behind him and then addressed the girl "running from the Thalmor are we?"

Ardarume looked up, her eyes filled with panic

"Don't worry, I'm not going to turn you in" he assured her "in fact I'm going to hide you."

Ardarume said nothing, she couldn't believe her luck

Orgnar went over to the wardrobe and moved the back panel to reveal a hidden door

Ardarume's eyes widen in surprise, whoever had made the wardrobe had done a very good job, one would be hard pressed to notice that the back was false if they didn't already know.

"Follow me" Orgnar ordered

Ardarume did so…it wasn't like she had any better options

He led her down a small staircase and into a large chamber; it had all kinds of weapons, books, maps, and even a nice bed.

"Help yourself to what you need, there should be plenty of food stored in the barrels and there's some armor in the chest over there." Orgnar knew that Delphine would probably skin him for this later but the kid clearly needed help, he couldn't let tell her no.

"Why do you have all this?!" Ardarume asked surely this kind of thing wasn't normal in Skyrim…was it?

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies" Orgnar responded "now, you should be safe if you stay down here for the night. I'll come and get you in the morning, once the elves… the other elves I mean" abruptly remembering that the girl he was helping was also an elf "have gone."

He then turned to leave

"Wait" Ardarume said

He turned his head and looked at her over his shoulder

"Not to seem ungrateful but…why are you helping me?" she asked him

"The Thalmor murdered my family for worshiping Talos" Orgnar said his voice was tight with pain "whatever they want, I oppose. It seems they want to get their hands on you, therefore I intend to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Thank you for your help and I'm sorry for your loss" Ardarume replied softly…really what else could she say to that

Orgnar nodded but did not reply verbally and then he walked away, closing up the wardrobe behind him.

After she finished her meal Elenwen closed the door to her room…well, it was hers for the night anyway. She knew full well that the human had been lying when he said that he had caused the noise, really had he honestly expected her to believe that stupid lie? He was obviously hiding something, most likely it was something unimportant, he was probably smuggling war contraband or something like that, but Elenwen decided to take the opportunity to try and ferret out his secret…one could never have enough blackmail material after all. Slowly, methodically she began her search.

AN: A couple of clarifications in case anyone is confused. Number one, the reasons why some of the human characters have been calling Ardarume kid when she's twenty nine is that I have made the assumption that elves have longer childhoods than humans because their overall life span is longer. Ardarume LOOKS like she's probably 16 or 17 by human standards hence the term kid.

Second, Ardarume IS an Altmer NOT a Breton. Cannon says that Bretons evolved from generations of interbreeding between humans and elves. Ardarume only has ONE human in her family tree (her father) and therefore does not have enough human ancestry to qualify her as a Breton. Cannon also establishes that when child is born to an interracial couple, the child is the same race as the mother, therefore since Elenwen is an Altmer that means Ardarume is as well, even though she has inherited a few traits from her father like the eyes Elenwen hates so much.

Lastly, YES it is possible for a woman to rape a man, it's not as common as the reverse...at least not according to the data I have seen on the subject, but those numbers must be taken with a grain of salt since most rapes go unreported and men are even less likely to report being raped than women. Rape is also just as psychologically damaging to men as it is to women...which of course, is why Elenwen did it, her prisoner wasn't breaking fast enough for her superiors under conventional methods (ie. physical torture) so she tried something else.

Hopefully that helps things make more sense...any other questions, feel free to PM me or ask in a review.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: New Life, New Town

Ardarume slept rather fitfully that night, she was terrified that Elenwen would find the false back in the wardrobe and then find her hiding place but she didn't.

The next morning Ardarume awoke, ate some of the food and helped herself to some of the leather armor…she tried to lift the steel breastplate first but immediately decided that it was too heavy. She also took one of the short steel swords….she had never touched a weapon in her life. Her mother claimed that they had magic and therefore no need for weapons but Ardarume felt safer with a weapon in her hand…even though she had no idea how to use it.

She swung it around a few times trying to get a feel for how the weapon worked when the door opened.

Ardarume looked over nervously but it was only the innkeeper

"You scared me" she said

"Sorry about that" he said "I just wanted to tell you that the other elves are gone, it's safe for you to leave now…and you probably should soon. It's not safe for you here."

Ardarume blinked "Why?"

"I can't tell you because that would put you in danger, just trust me on this, you are better off away from here."

After everything the man had done for her, Ardarume could hardly impose on him any further so she left. She walked out of the inn and saw a few people around but no one was willing to talk to her.

She decided to just follow the road; she didn't know where it went but figured it had to lead somewhere.

She wasn't certain how long she walked before she started seeing signs of civilization. She then saw a large giant thing, fighting several armed warriors.

She sent a couple of shock spells at it but she wasn't sure if her spells accomplished very much. In any event though the creature was soon brought down but one of the fighters had been injured, Ardarume raced to him and started using her magic to heal his wounds.

"A real warrior wouldn't just stand there while and watch a fight." A woman with a bow and arrow admonished her

"I was NOT just standing there; didn't you see the lighting spells hitting the giant, where did you think they were coming from?" Ardarume challenged

"Magic" one of the armed men scoffed "magic is for weaklings and milk drinkers. A true warrior wouldn't stoop to such things"

"Fine, then I suppose I should just let your friend here suffer from his wounds then, since magic is so terrible, surely no warrior should accept its' healing." Ardarume snapped, she was bluffing mostly; she wouldn't let the man continue to hurt; besides his wounds were just about patched up away.

"Don't let my brother's tongue bother you" the man she was healing said "he has a bad habit of opening his mouth and promptly inserting his foot. I for one am grateful for your help. I feel much better now." The injured man said

"You're welcome" Ardarume replied, putting some extra emphasis on the word you're "it's nice to see that someone in this rabble has good manners."

"Rabble, who are you calling rabble?" the archer woman demanded "We are the Companions, the premier fighters in all of Skyrim"

By this point Ardarume had finished tending the man's wounds "Mercenaries then, not that I see much difference."

"Typical outsider, disrespecting things you don't understand." The archer said

"I understand plenty. I understand that respect is a two-way street, if you want it; you have to give it in return. You didn't treat me with any respect so why should I give you any?" Ardarume questioned

"What part of premier fighters in all of Skyrim did you not understand?" the archer responded

"The part where you think it gives you the right to act like you're better than everyone else in everything. That's not how it works; people are good at some things and not at others. For instance I freely admit you are probably a better archer than I am, but I bet I'm a better healer than you."

"I didn't mean it like that" the archer said

"Right sure" Ardarume replied disbelievingly "your friend is healed now so I'm leaving" she then tried to begin walking down the road but the woman's voice stopped her

"If you're trying to get into Whiterun don't bother."

Ardarume turned around "Why not?"

"We received word that the city of Helgen was attacked by something, not sure what at this point but the jarl has ordered the city sealed, no one goes in or out except for city residents, which given the fact that I have been living in the city for years and never seen you, I'm willing to bet you're not." The archer explained

Ardarume sighed….going to the city had seemed to be a good idea since the Thalmor was not allowed there.

"Why don't you come with us?" the archer suggested "if we tell the guards that you are with us they will more than likely let you through. Consider it a thank you for tending our wounded shield brother."

"I accept your offer, thank you" Ardarume responded politely

"By the way, I don't believe we properly introduced ourselves" the archer woman responded said "my name is Aela, the man you tended to is Farkas and the other one is his brother Vilkas, what's your name?"

"Ar-Ariel, my name is Ariel" Ardarume said…abruptly realizing that she probably shouldn't use her given name if she wanted to make sure her mother couldn't find her.  
"All right then, Ariel let's go." Aela stated

The group walked up the road and to the gates of the city

"Hail Companions" one of the guards greeted as his partner began to open the gates. Soon the gates were open and they began to walk through when the guard stopped them

"Wait, who is this with you?"  
"Her name is Ariel, she's with us." Aela said firmly

"…I'm sorry but the Jarl ordered no strangers are allowed in the city, not until we figure out what attacked Helgen."

"It was a dragon" Ariel declared

They all turned to look at her

"You sure of that?" Vilkas demanded

"Positive" Ariel affirmed "I was there, I saw the whole thing. If Ulfric hadn't shouted a hole in the wall, I might not have made it out alive."  
"Ulfric, you're a Stormcloak?" Aela asked "I didn't think they would let elves join them."

"I'm not a Stormcloak; I was in the city at the time. When the black dragon first started attacking, one of the first men wounded was a Stormcloak. When I saw him fall clutching his leg, I didn't care whether he was a Stormcloak or an Imperial, all I saw was an injured man who needed my help. I ran over and mended his wounds. Another of the Stormcloaks called for him to go into one of the towers, he ran and I didn't know what else to do so I followed.

When we got inside Ulfric and some other Stormcloaks were there, a couple of them were wounded, I tended to their wounds and then we all fled the tower by jumping out the window since the door was blocked by some fallen rubble. Ulfric and I were the last and we got separated from the others by a bunch of burning wood so we ran the other way. We ran along the wall until I found a spot of it that looked weak, I don't know if that was a result of the dragon attack or if it had been like that earlier but the wall didn't budge when I pushed on it. Ulfric told me to move out of the way and then he shouted some strange words at it and after a couple of blasts he made a hole in the wall big enough for us to squeeze through. We ran until the city and the dragon were out of sight and then we went our separate ways." Ariel explained

"If you were at Helgen, Jarl Balgruff will want to hear your story." The guard said "go on in and head to Dragonsreach, the Companions here can show you the way."

The group headed into the city, they kept walking until the came to a large…rather unhealthy looking tree.

"Here is where we part ways." Aela said "Dragonsreach is at the top of the central steps over there." She pointed toward a large set of stairs "You can't miss it."

Ariel thanked them and then began walking.

She soon arrived in the keep but she didn't get much farther before a well-armed dark elf woman ran to her and demanded angrily "what is the meaning of this interruption, Jarl Balgruff is not receiving visitors."

"the guards told me to come here" Ariel explained "they said that he would want to know what happened at Helgen."

"We all want the answer to that question, do you have it?" the dark elf asked

"More than most, I was there when the dragon attacked." Ariel said

"Indeed, Jarl Balgruff will want to hear about that, come with me then."  
Ariel followed the woman to a raised dais on the other end of the keep's great hall. A man lounged on a throne, she assumed that it was Jarl Balgruff…she tried to recall what little she knew of him, mainly from snippets of overheard conversations around the embassy, it wasn't very much, and certainly nothing that would help her in her current situation.

"Irelith, why have you brought this girl here?" he questioned

The dark elf, whom Ariel assumed was Irelith, replied "she was at Helgen; I brought her to tell us what happened."

"I see, then tell us your tale." He ordered gently but firmly

Ariel told them the same thing she had told the guard outside the city.

"So Ulfric Stormcloak is still alive then" the Jarl said after Ariel finished

"Most likely" Ariel said

"My jarl" Irelith began "I strongly suggest we send additional troops to Riverwood at once, it's in the most immediate danger, if that dragon is lurking in the mountains…." She trailed off obviously unwilling to finish that sentence

"We can't do that!" a man standing next to the Jarl's throne countered "If we send troops that close to the border, the Jarl of Falkreath will take it as a sign that we are planning to join Ulfric and attack him!"

"Proventus have you met Sidgeir?" Balgruff asked him

"Well, no" Proventus admitted

"I have and let me tell you, that boy doesn't see anything beyond his next bottle of mead. In any case, war or no war I will NOT stand idly by while a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people! Irelith, send a detachment to Riverwood at once." Balgruff said

Irelith bowed slightly and replied "Yes, my jarl" she then left to go prepare some troops

Ariel, believing that she was no longer needed began to leave but Balgruff's voice stopped her

"Wait"

She turned to look at him.

He got up from his throne and approached her

"You sought me out on your own initiative, such loyalty deserves a reward."

Ariel opened her mouth to protest that she hadn't done any such thing and no reward was necessary but Balgruff tossed her a purse filled with several coins…coins that she would sorely need if she was serious about trying to live a life on her own.

"Now you may take your leave, but I ask you not to leave the town for a while. We may need to hear more from you." He said

"Is there an inn around here, where I can get a room?" Ariel asked

"Yes, the Bannered Mare, down in the market district. The redguard woman they just hired is quite the cook, if rumor is to be believed" Balgruff told her

"All right then, thank you" Ariel said

Balgruff did not respond as someone else called for his attention

It was still light out so Ariel decided to take some time and explore the city before she headed to the inn. Eventually she came upon the Blacksmith's shop where a redguard woman seemed to be in a heated argument with a heavily armored Nord man

"I'm just ONE blacksmith; I can't make that many swords. I already have more orders than I can fill as it is" The woman declared

"Come on woman" the Nord said "where's your sense of loyalty, do you want this town to be burned and sacked by the Stormcloaks, or a dragon?!"

"….can I help?' Ariel offered

They both stopped and looked at her

"You said that you couldn't make that many swords by yourself, what if I helped you, could you do it then?" she elaborated  
"Have you ever even TOUCHED a blacksmith's hammer before?" the woman asked dubiously

"Well no," Ariel admitted "but I'm good with my hands and I learn fast."

"well lucky for you, I'm desperate so I'll give you a shot. We'll start with something simple, an iron dagger."

The redguard guided her through making the dagger and a leather helmet after both pieces were finished and refined she examined them critically

"Not bad" she said somewhat surprised "was that REALLY your first time in the forge?"

Ariel nodded

"Well, you certainly did better than I did my first time."

"Adrianne, why don't you take her as an apprentice?" the Nord suggested

"What?" the woman asked

"You yourself said that you have more orders than you can fill on your own, why not have her help?"

Adrianne considered a moment and then turned to Ariel "Do you have a place to stay?"

"No…I was going to get a room at the Bannered Mare for a few days at least" Ariel answered

"All right, here's my offer. We have a spare bed on the upper floor, so I am offering you room and board and a few scarp materials to make items to sell so you have some spending money of your own and in exchange, during the week you work alongside me as my apprentice. I work from dawn to dusk every week day and I will expect you to be working with me, unless you get sick or something. Weekends and evenings are yours to spend as you please, what do you say?"  
Ariel thought about it and found that she liked it, she enjoyed the way she could feel the metal changing shape as she pounded on it…plus imaging the faces of people she didn't like on the metal gave her anger a nice outlet. She had very much enjoyed today.

"What can I say except when do I start?" Ariel said

"That's the way" the Nord said "So now that you've got yourself an apprentice, will you take the job?"

"All right" Adrianne said "but don't expect any miracles."

Several minutes later Ariel was working the smelter while Adrianne was at the forge and then a couple of kids ran by while playing tag, one of the ran into Ariel. Unfortunately Ariel had been holding a shovel with some molten metal and when the kid ran into her, she stumbled and lost her grip on the shovel. The shovel slipped and its fiery contents went flying toward one of the other kids.

The kid (a girl) instinctively raised her arms to protect herself. The molten metal hit her arms and burned her badly. She cried out in pain.

Both women raced to the girl Ariel began working her healing magic while Adrianne lectured her

"I've told all of you kids a thousand times NOT to play near the forge, especially not when I'm working!"

She held up her hammer "This is NOT a toy, none of these are toys. They are powerful and potentially dangerous pieces of equipment, if you're not careful accidents WILL happen…frankly, we're lucky it was just her arms and not her face."

"It's okay, it doesn't hurt anymore….the nice lady is making it all better." The girl said

"Be that as it may" Adrianne responded "it doesn't change the fact that none of you should have been messing around here in the first place."

"There, all fixed" Ariel said after a minute

The girl examined her arms "Wow, I don't even have a scratch, did Danica teach you to do that? I asked her to teach me once but she said I was too young."

"Who's Danica?" Ariel asked

"Danica Pure-Spring" Adrianne said "She's the head priestess over at the temple of Kynareth and a very skilled healer."

"Do you think she'd teach me?" Ariel asked eagerly

"Why would you need teaching, you are clearly quite skilled already." Adrianne said  
"Maybe, but I can always get better" Ariel responded "a healer always has to be ready to learn"

"Danica's usually happy to give anyone who asks a few tips. Whiterun can always use more healers, go talk to Danica and see what she says."

"Yes, master" Ariel responded

"Don't call me that." Adrianne said "Yes, I know it's traditional but my name is Adrianne and that's the only title I need or want, understand?"

"Yes, ma- I mean yes, Adrianne" Ariel replied

"Good, now go on to the temple" Adrianne ordered

Ariel wasted no time, she ran through the market district and up to the cloud district.

She went into the temple and was shocked at what she found. There were several sick and injured lying around while the few healers moved slowly from one to the next. Ariel forgot about asking for lessons, she just headed straight to the nearest patient and did what she could to help.  
Eventually Danica and Ariel were working side by side as they each tended to a different patient

"Why did you come here, my child?" Danica asked

'"I wanted lessons in restoration magic but when I saw all these people -"Ariel began but Danica cut her off

"Say no more" Danica said "You immediately rushed in to help, that's the mark of a true healer. Unfortunately with the war, we have far more patients that normal. I am not giving lessons right now, but practice is the best teacher anyway, so any time you want to come and help, you would be more than welcome and I will be here to help you if you have any trouble."

"Thank you, very much" Ariel said "My name is Ariel; I'm Adrianne's new apprentice."

"I didn't know Adrianne had an apprentice." Danica responded

"It only happened today." Ariel explained "When I said new I meant brand new."

"I see, well then I suppose congratulations are in order."

Over the following week, Ariel worked out a schedule for herself. She spent every week day working the forge with Adrianne. When Adrianne quit working at 6, she ate dinner with her and Urgerth and then Ariel went to the Temple to work with the healers until 10 at night. On weekends she spent the day in the Temple until 6 and used the evenings as a little 'me-time'. It seemed like a rigorous schedule but Ariel was doing two things she LOVED doing, she had never been happier in her life.  
A little more than a week after Ariel first arrived; a man in wizard robes came to the forge

"Farengar" Adrianne greeted him "We don't normally see you down here, do you need something?"

"Yes actually, I need to speak to your apprentice Ariel" he said

Ariel looked up from the sword she was sharpening

"Speak to me about what?" Ariel asked

"The dragon at Helgen" he said

Ariel had told Adrianne and her husband all about it over dinner the day she'd arrived so Adrianne didn't question it

"What do you want to know?" Ariel asked

"Everything you can tell me" Farengar answered and then followed with a series of questions.

When he said that he wanted to know everything, he hadn't been kidding. His questions included ones Ariel could answer definitively (example, what color was the dragon, black) ones she had to guess (example, how big was it, a bit smaller than a house but larger than a carriage) to ones she had no clue (where did it come from, how am I supposed to know). After what felt like forever, Farengar was finally satisfied

"Thank you for your help." He said and returned to Dragonsreach  
A bit after that, Aela and another Nord man approached her "Ariel, may we talk?" Aela asked

"Anything you have to me, you can say in front of Adrianne" Ariel said

"The jarl has hired us to go to Bleak Falls Barrow and retrieve something called a dragonstone."

"What's a dragonstone?" Ariel asked

"A map, of ancient dragon burial sites" Aela answered

"Why does he want that, does he think the dragons are coming back from the dead or something?" Ariel questioned

"I don't know, we don't ask why, we just do what we're hired to do" Aela said "Anyway, the jarl said that since the task involved dragons, we should ask you to come along. You have more experience with those beasts than any of us. You'll get a cut of the money of course."

Ariel hesitated, she wasn't certain that she would be very much help. She looked at Adrianne

"How long do you think this will take?"

"Not too long" Aela said "Bleak Falls Barrow is not far from Riverwood. I wouldn't expect it to take more than a few days at the very most."

"Well, I think I can spare Ariel for that length of time." Adrianne said, internally she was wondering why her father hadn't discussed this with her first, he told her a lot of what went on in the keep and she would have thought that sending her apprentice on a dangerous mission with the Companions would have been something he'd want her opinion on. "But you better bring her back to me in one piece."

"Of course, Adrianne we'll look after her, don't worry." Aela said

Ariel sighed, "honestly, I don't think I will be very much help. I'm no fighter but Whiterun is my home now and I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing I had the chance to help protect it and I didn't."

Adrianne smiled, she was proud of her apprentice for that answer…Ariel hadn't been with them for very long but the young Altmer had already warmed her way into Adrianne's heart. Adrianne couldn't help but think that part of that may be that her apprentice was the closest thing she would ever have to a child of her own. Adrianne had gotten very sick when she was a child, almost everyone in Whiterun had assumed that little Adrianne was going to die. Only one person in the city hadn't given up and that person was Danica Pure-Spring, then only an acolyte somehow managed to pull Adrianne through with a combination of hard work, skill, luck and sheer stubbornness but the disease had taken a toll, Adrianne had been made sterile.

"When do we leave?" Ariel asked

"As soon as you're ready" Aela said

"Okay, let me go and change my clothes" Ariel responded and went into Warmaiden's and up to her room. She knew that that it was a bad idea to go running around who knows where in a dress. She put on her leather armor and grabbed a steel sword. She didn't bother with a bow and arrows because she had never so much as fired a bow in her life…she would probably more dangerous to her allies than her enemies with no practice, she'd use her magic for ranged attacks.  
Once she was done she returned to the Companions

"Okay, I'm ready" Ariel said

"Do you have any idea how to USE the blade you're carrying?" the Nord guy asked

"I know enough to swing the sharp part at the enemy" Ariel answered

"YOU DON'T JUST SWING IT!" He shouted "idiocy like that is what gets people killed! If that's all you're good for you might as well stay here."

Ariel looked down embarrassed

The man sighed "Look, I'll show you a few basics, so stop looking like you're a puppy that's just been kicked."

"Okay, thanks Mr…um, what's your name anyway" Ariel responded

"Skjor, my name is Skjor and now let's go over there so we don't accidently stab any passersby"  
They went over to an isolated corner of the city wall and then Skjor spend the next few hours drilling Ariel in basic sword fighting moves until eventually Aela interrupted

"That's enough; we have to leave now if we want to make Riverwood before nightfall."

"All right" Skjor said he and Ariel both sheathed their swords

"You know enough now to not stab yourself the first time you draw your blade. I would recommend that you stay behind Aela and I and stick to your spells, Aela tells me that's what you're good at."

"Your compatriots got angry with me for using spells against the giant." Ariel said

"Vilkas would, he doesn't like magic or those who practice it, a lot of nords are like that me but as for me, as long as you hit the enemy and not me, I'm fine with it." Skjor said

"All right then" Ariel said and then they left

Eventually they arrived in Riverwood and rented a pair of rooms at the inn. Aela went to the counter and told the man there

"We'd like two rooms please"

"Talk to Delphine, she runs the inn, I'm just the cook." He responded

Ariel instinctively started a bit, she knew the name Delphine. The woman was a Blade, one of the few and most dangerous survivors. They turned to a woman who was sweeping the floor

"That will be 20 septims" the woman said

Ariel looked at her, she was a Breton that much was clear but Delphine was supposed to be in her 50s…this woman didn't look that old, Ariel had thought humans were supposed to age faster than elves because they didn't live as long, but maybe Bretons, being mixed didn't, she wasn't sure. She did know that the woman didn't look dangerous but then she also knew that appearances could be very deceiving.  
Aela paid the woman and they sat down to eat some of the food that they had brought with them.

Ariel noticed that the man behind the counter was pointedly looking anywhere but at her. She realized that for some reason he didn't want to talk to her so she left him alone

The next morning they left the inn and after a long and (for Ariel at least, arduous climb) they arrived at the Barrow

"Wow" Ariel said when she first saw it "this looks like…an ancient temple or something."

"Possibly, it could also be a tomb, given what we came here to find." Aela replied "There are dozens of these barrow things scattered across Skyrim."

"Really?" Ariel asked

Aela nodded

As the group approached a figure darted out from behind one of the pillars and shot an arrow at them.

Skjor just barely managed to raise his shield in time to catch it; he then charged at the archer but was intercepted by another bandit wielding a mace.

Aela drew her bow and began shooting arrows while Ariel summoned a flame atronach and then began to fire shock spells.

After killing the two bandits, they headed into the Barrow.

Inside they found two more bandits talking to each other about a companion of theirs who had stupidly gone running off ahead.

Ariel sent her strongest shock spell at the back of the archer, it killed her almost immediately

The companions glared at Ariel briefly before Skjor charged forward to intercept the dead archer's partner who was charging at them. Once he was dead Skjor rounded on Ariel

"What were you thinking?!" he demanded

"What?" Ariel asked

"Attacking an enemy while their back is turned, what kind of a coward are you?" he questioned

"The kind who wants this over with as soon as possible." Ariel countered "the kind who isn't willing to get killed just to prove some kind of stupid point."

"It's not STUPID; honor is the most important thing we have in life!" Skjor countered

"And who decides what's honorable, who decides what honor even is?" Ariel questioned "For instance, most nords say magic is bad and yet Danica uses it to save lives every day, how many of you have gone to her and told that she stop using her healing magic because its' somehow dishonorable? Each person has their own idea of what is honorable and even what honor is."  
"We Companions live by the Nord code of honor" Skjor declared

"In case you haven't noticed I'm not a Companion or a Nord." She said "I live by my own code and I don't need your approval"

Skjor opened his mouth to say something but Aela beat him to it

"Enough, Skjor she's not one of us, we can't expect her to live her life according to our standards, besides we've wasted too much time as it is."

She then began walking further into the barrow, Skjor followed her with Ariel bring up the rear.

Before long it got to be almost pitch black

"Hang on, I'll light us a torch." Skjor said

"Don't bother" Ariel replied and cast a candlelight spell. "There you are one hands free light."

The Nords didn't say anything, they simply continued walking.

They fought their way past, to Ariel's utter disgust, some very large spiders…that was one of the few things she and Elenwen had ever agreed on, spiders were the most revolting creatures on earth and these large ones were the worst.

Quickly they ran towards the voice. They arrived in a large chamber that was absolutely covered in cobwebs

"Giant spider!" the voice said "kill it, kill it!"

A split second later an ENORMOUS spider descended from the ceiling. Ariel was briefly torn between the urge to vomit and the urge to run away screaming bloody, gory murder.

"KILL IT, KILL IT!" the male voice yelled

Ariel snapped back into reality, she shouldn't be vomiting or running, she should be ROASTING this revolting…abomination.

Ariel felt bad for Skjor, he had to get close enough to be TOUCHED by that thing. She and Aela hung back, Aela fired arrows while Ariel threw fireballs and eventually the spider died. Said spider had however secured for itself the top spot on Ariel's list of most revolting things in the world.

After which Ariel noticed that Skjor was looking a bit green

"Are you all right, did the spider poison you?"

"It's just a scratch" Skjor claimed "I'll be fine"

Ariel rolled her eyes, she HATED when people said that, because nine times out of ten they were NOT fine. Besides she had the impression that Skjor was one of those people who would say he was fine even if he'd just a limb cut (or bitten since they'd been fighting a spider) clean off.

She cast a spell to cure the poison and a group healing spell on all of them

"Hey!" Skjor protested "You can't just go casting spells on people without permission, what in Oblivion is wrong with you?!"  
"You were NOT fine, that spider clearly had managed to poison you and I am NOT going to stand by and let someone hurt because they are too idiotic to admit that they need help!" Ariel countered

Skjor opened his mouth to argue back but the male voice interrupted them

"HELLO! Guy trapped in a spider's web over here."

Skjor turned and moved in the direction of the voice followed closely by Aela and Ariel and eventually they found a male dark elf that was all wrapped up in spider's web. Ariel felt even sorrier for him than she had for Skjor.

"Quick, get me down!" he urged

Skjor looked at him suspiciously "how do we know you won't attack us as soon as you're free, the way your compatriots did?"

"Why would I attack the people who saved my life?" the elf asked "besides, you'll never be reach the treasure without me anyway?"

"What treasure?" Ariel asked

"What treasure?" the elf laughed "the legends say that a source of great power lies at in this barrow but it's sealed, the seal can only be broken by the golden claw…which I happen to have in my pocket. If you cut me down, I'll show you how the claw works and spilt the treasure with you when we find it."

"Cut him down Skjor" Aela said "if what he says is true, we won't be able to get the dragon stone without him. Besides, we can't just leave him here."

Slowly, carefully Skjor took his sword and began cutting through the spider's web.

When he was freed the man fell to the ground. He brushed himself off and took off running

"You fools" he cackled "why should I share the treasure with anyone?!"

The companions and Ariel ran after him.

Before two long the man was attacked by some of the dead bodies, said bodies had somehow rose again

"What in Oblivion are those?!" Ariel shrieked

"Dragur, the walking dead" Skjor answered and then he slashed one of them across the chest with his sword.

Ariel shook her head but wasted no more time, she started throwing shock spells. Eventually they killed the dragur and Ariel bent down to examine the dead dark elf's body…ignoring the disapproving looks the Nords were giving her.

They continued on, eventually coming to a large stone door.

"Great, how are we supposed to get past this?" Skjor said

"There's got to be a clue around here somewhere." Aela replied and then she and Skjor spilt up and began searching the room while Ariel read the journal that she had taken off the dark elf's body.

"When you hold the golden claw the answer is in your hand." She muttered after finishing

She took the golden claw out of her pocket and examined it. It had a series of carvings on it, carvings that shared the same design as the ones on the door. She reached up and pulled on the top carving and it spun around until a different animal was revealed

"Ah Ha" she said softly realizing what she had to do in order to open the door. Quickly she spun the carvings around until the series on the door was the same as the ones on the claw and then she inserted the claw into the slot and sure enough the door opened.

The trio moved on it a large cavern at the back of the cavern they found a large chest. Aela opened it and started going through it's' contents.

Ariel though was far more interested in the wall behind the chest. One of the words on it was glowing blue and she didn't understand why. Curious she knelt down and touched the word…as soon as she did she was engulfed by a bunch of flashing lights for a moment and a few seconds later she was completely blinded and then it all stopped as suddenly as it had started. Ariel looked back at the wall, it was not glowing anymore but she had the impression that the text on the wall said something about force.

She stepped back from the wall, she didn't even remotely understand what had just happened and she didn't like it one little bit.

"Found it!" Skjor said triumphantly and then he grabbed a stone tablet off a pedestal as soon as he did that the coffin behind the pedestal popped open and a dragur far larger than any of the ones they had fought before climbed out of it.

Ariel didn't waste time, she started hitting him with shock spells as soon as it emerged. Aela waited until it had stood up and then she began firing arrows while Skjor charged forward and engaging the dragur in sword to ax combat.

Since it was three against one, the dragur did die but not before it managed to wound Skjor badly in the arm. He looked at Ariel expectantly

She looked back at him with an expression that said 'what?'

Skjor sighed, she was GOING to make him ask "…I could use a little help with this."

Ariel didn't waste time responding, she been going against her every instinct just by waiting as long as she had, now that she had permission to treat him, she was not going to waste any more time by talking.

"What was so interesting about that wall?" Aela asked

"You didn't see it?" Ariel questioned back

"See what?" Aela replied

Ariel shook her head "Nothing, forget about it"

Aela clearly didn't believe it was nothing but she decided that she didn't know Ariel well enough to press the matter.  
They made their way out of the Barrow and back to Whiterun in silence.


End file.
